Gonzalez in RF as Youkilis returns

BALTIMORE -- With Cody Ross hurt and Kevin Youkilis back, it didn't take long for the Red Sox to shake up their defensive lineup.

Tim Britton

BALTIMORE -- With Cody Ross hurt and Kevin Youkilis back, it didn't take long for the Red Sox to shake up their defensive lineup.

Youkilis was in the lineup at first base on Tuesday night, and Adrian Gonzalez was making his third start in four days in right field. It's the first time Gonzalez has played right field in an American League ballpark since 2005.

Will Middlebrooks maintained his starting spot at third base.

The Red Sox have no concerns about Youkilis playing his former position at first; the bigger issue obviously is whether Gonzalez can handle right field on anything more than an occasional basis.

"Even in a small outfield, we'll have to appraise that situation as we see it more. I would say that probably less is better than more," manager Bobby Valentine said. "I don't think he'll mess up anything. There just might be a few that he doesn't get to. If it comes to the point that there's just outs that were giving away then we'll probably scratch the idea."

"In the short-term, some guys are going to be asked to do things that maybe they wouldn't normally," general manager Ben Cherington said. "Adrian knows himself really well. He knows how far he can push it. I think Bobby has a good idea for how far he can push it. It's not going to be an everyday thing. It's probably not a long-term thing. But in the short-term, here and there, in the right ballparks, maybe it helps us a little bit.

"Everyone's just got to make an adjustment. What we're trying to do is put the best team on the field that we can, and keep as many good players on the roster as we can. It is a little bit unusual circumstance to move guys around, but we have a bunch of professional guys and I think they can handle it."

Middlebrooks gets an added chance to show what he can do in the big leagues.

"I wasn't really worried either way," said Middlebrooks. "Definitely happier to be here."